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Hi everyone, long time and all that. The left two I picked up in DC, Serbian quince eau de vie ($20/L!), the lovely lovely Willett 2 yr, and some goodies from 3 weeks in Lebanon: Rhum Saint James ambre, excellent, cheap, and ubiquitous there but not Stateside; Monk-made arak from the Antonine monks of the Mar Chaaya (Saint Isaiah) Monastery, and Arak el Rif, a more high-end commercial Lebanese arak in which the anise is less subtle.

I've undoubtedly got other stuff in the last several months since I posted, but who remembers...

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Interesting. Don't think I have ever seen a box for the Plantation Single Cask rums. I presume there is a label on the back indicating which particular rum that is? Back when the Plantation 20th Anniversary came in the wide short bottle it had a box (and typically still does now that it is in a taller bottle as I recall) but not the vario0us single cask bottlings, at least in my area.

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Every now and then, this little country I live in surprises me. We can usually only get a couple of average mezcals, rye is rare (but fortunately includes Rittenhouse), Smith & Cross was impossible until only a few months ago. Then I find one of our better booze shops has this:

Not being a trained Hungarian, I don't think I'll be drinking it on its own - it's a bit too seriously medicinal (heading in a Fernet direction, but not as intense as that). But it works really well in one of these. A 500ml bottle is the equivalent of USD30 or so, but I can see myself getting it again.

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It's not that it's not tasty on its own; it's just a little too much for my taste. The Fall of Man was pretty good, and I also have Sonic Titan on my list (not least because of the last part of the instructions).

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Friends coming over for cocktails insisted on bringing a bottle of something, so I told them I'd be happy to try something new from local (Minnesota) distiller Tattersall, and they showed up with this sour cherry liqueur.

Here's my tasting notes side-by-side with Cherry Heering:

Tattersall is 30% ABV (vs. Heering's 24%)

Its color is clearer and brighter red than Heering's old-blood red.

There's a big difference to the nose: Tattersall is mostly alcohol fumes, where Heering has a yummy sweet cherry aroma.

The taste is certainly similar enough that substitution in cocktail recipes will work splendidly. But Tattersall does taste markedly more sour, which you get throughout the sip and finish. That sharpness consequentially prevents the sweet cough-syrup cherry flavor that is more prominent in Heering.

Tattersall now has a huge line of spirits and liqueurs. As I've said before, their gin is terrific. I've also had a small taste of their fernet, which lacks the menthol strength of Fernet Branca but despite that (or rather because of that) seems really promising for mixing.

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Gave into temptation and purchased a bottle of Amaro Lucano today. It is very nice, reminds me a lot of Ramazzotti, but a touch less sweet and less bitter at the same time.

On ‎2‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 11:59 PM, FrogPrincesse said:

I agree; I like it better than Ramazzoti.

Interesting. I tried Lucano for the first time this week and thought it a bit light. Good texture but not as much complexity. I think I still prefer the Ramazotti which has a bit more heft and more orange as I recall to balance the licorice component. I guess I should try them side by side.

1

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Interesting. I tried Lucano for the first time this week and thought it a bit light. Good texture but not as much complexity. I think I still prefer the Ramazotti which has a bit more heft and more orange as I recall to balance the licorice component. I guess I should try them side by side.

Haha. I think I got my amari mixed up! It's Baulio I was thinking of when I made that comment, not Lucano.

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I bought a bottle of Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky -- which was one of the best whiskies I've ever had when mixed with soda -- and Nikka 17 year old Whisky. I've been looking for a bottle of the 21 year old Hibiki from Suntory.

Japanese whisky rocks!

I had this at a party recently and it was delicious. I am not a whiskey drinker but I will be keeping an eye out for this one and will happily shell out for it if I get the chance.